PRAISE

Good turnout at the workshop this past week. About 70, plus children and team. This group has really bonded. Many testimonies of God’s provision, of leading people to Christ.

 

 

(And Abe is training them young!)

And the following is a testimony which I tried to record as Abe told it to me:

One of the CoH leaders met a man who asked him if he was a Baptist pastor. When he responded yes, the man said. Oh, I want to become a Baptist. Right now! Can you baptize me right away! I'm afraid I'm going to be drafted and I'm taking care of my invalid mother who cannot even feed herself, so I don't want to go into the army!

The pastor said, Well, that isn't the way it works. For one thing, becoming a Baptist won't prevent you from being drafted, and, you need to do something else before you are baptized. Here is a prayer card that explains what you really need. Take it home and read it and I'll talk to you in a few days.

He met with the man again a few days later and the man said, "Yes, I want to pray this prayer! I want to believe in Christ and follow Him. And I want to do it whether or not I'm drafted. It doesn't even matter whether I have to go into the army!" So they prayed together and the man committed His life to Christ with all joy.

Sure enough, soon thereafter he was called up to go into the army, so he went. And...lo and behold, a short time later they released him to return home because of his dependent mother!

Interesting how God draws people in different ways, and that when they meet Christ, fear leaves. Praise the Lord as He moves and works in the lives of people!

PRAYER

• Which brings me to what is an ongoing prayer request in Ukraine for these coming months: this issue of men being conscripted to serve in the army. Especially pray for the Christians who are facing this. In that area I see men who are preparing themselves for that possibility, not without fear, but with an understanding of responsibility and God’s care; others who are hiding, trying to slip through the net as it is being tightened, in fear; and the wives of all of these men, many of whom live in dread—not only how they will manage with them gone but, what if. This is not some war far away. This is a war that, at best, is only a few hundred miles away. And the daily reports are of men dying. Pray as each man faces this that he would be able to claim the peace of Christ and the knowledge that he is in the hands of a God who loves him. And that each wife would be assured that their Lord and Savior is able to care for their needs. They are not alone.

• Shorter term, Abe has two meetings next week. He leaves Monday noon and will return Wednesday evening and leave again Thursday morning, returning Saturday afternoon. The first is a workshop with the smaller group. Pray that they will be encouraged. These are the ones with fully operational Centers of Hope, and they are struggling with the task of building a team. Doing evangelism is one thing. Raising up people a whole other challenge. Pray also for Abe’s endurance. He is quite tired right now.
• The second meeting is a pastors’ conference and Abe will be speaking a couple times. Pray that the Holy Spirit would give him the right words. He will, of course, be speaking on evangelism and challenging them to go out into their communities and make a difference.
• And a final prayer request: Vera, our coworker, is from Crimea. She had to leave there after Russia took control in order to be able to continue ministering with Abe. Because of Covid and now the war, she has not been back for 3 years. Abe has been concerned because all of her family is there, and she is a single woman. Loneliness and homesickness can be an issue. Not that she would ever complain! It is a difficult journey, but she thinks she has found a bus. It will take 4 days of travel both ways and it is very expensive, so Abe wants her to leave soon so she will have at least 6 weeks to actually be there. Pray that the Lord would open up the way for her to go. We think it will minister to her soul.

Vera is well loved by all of our people. Her work with them is invaluable as she phones, encourages, evaluates and strategizes with Abe.

 

Thank you, Lord, for being our overcoming God! You knew better than any of us how difficult this world would be and how desperately we would need your peace. So you promised that we can have that peace if we would desire it and ask you for it. You overcame the dark powers of this world and provided your peace for us. Thank you, Lord! Pour your peace into me now that I might demonstrate your overcoming power to those around me.

(Prayer from Harvest Prayer Ministries)

Published: 07 June 2024

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